Cottage Rule out the window?

Originally Posted by blueruckus

Since we're going all crazy now, can we FINALLY do something about Time Bomb???

I know this isn't the Blaster forums, but since I didn't catch the Ustream I was hoping someone would recap the explanation given as to why the Cottage Rule no longer applies. (Repulse/Disrupt)

Originally Posted by Arcanaville

..... the devs don't technically follow anything called "the cottage rule." The cottage rule is a term made up by the players, and it persists because its catchy. As used by the devs, it means only one thing: the devs will not replace Build Up with a power that summons a cottage instead of what it does now. Anyone who wants to rescind that rule literally wants build up to summon a cottage instead of what it does not.

The cottage rule example was intended to be an exemplar for a whole list of design rules the devs obey. I actually posted them almost a year before Castle's cottage post but people keep forgetting them because they are less catchy. Within the context of the cottage rule, *some of* the design rules the devs follow that are the basis for the cottage rule pronouncement are:

1. A power will not lose a primary function without a critical balance reason for that change that can only be solved by eliminating that feature.

2. A power will not alter its gameplay mechanics without a significant balance requirement that can only be solved by altering its mechanics. For the most part, this refers to the power being a click, toggle, passive, or location targeted power.

3. A power will not change its availability within a powerset without a significant balance requirement that can only be solved by such a change in powerset structure. In other words, powers won't change tier.

I should point out I posted those rules above, with more or less the same wording, with permission from Castle, the same developer that made the "cottage rule" post itself.


Everyone saying "the cottage rule" should be eliminated is saying essentially that the devs should not need a balance reason to change an already established power: they can do so for essentially any reason at all. Arguing for the abolishment of the cottage rule is essentially asking for chaos. Without it, no one is protected from any changes for any reason. The rule encapsulates one of the fundamental ways in which the powers design rules care about existing players at all.

Moreover, the devs aren't seriously going to entertain the suggestion to eliminate the cottage rule, because that's just a colloquial umbrella for a large set of interconnected design priorities. There's no way to "abolish" it, because there's no it. "It" is a term to represent a set of priorities.